This piece was created to promote the mental health organisation ‘Off The Record’. I contacted Solomon and asked him if he would be interested in performing a piece on mental health, and he wrote his own new poem especially for it, dealing with the topic of black masculinity in the modern world. I decided to set up boards in the background of a studio and provide Solomon with black paint where he could be free to write whatever he wanted.

 

After an hour or so of being immersed and painting on the walls, I got Solomon to perform his poem directly to the camera, with the camera positioned on a slow zoom out revealing the full walls at the end for maximum impact.